Legacy Project, phase three

This afternoon Mayor Rolly Zimmer and a member of the legacy committee, Dwight Olson (blue shirt)were on hand downtown to see how the project is going this summer. The project was delayed this year later than the first two years of the project to be easier on the downtown businesses. With the summer holidays over it was thought that the massive project would be less disruptive at this time of the yeaar.

Phase three was not initially intended to include the two blocks of main street but was

Was planned only to go from the Royal Bank to LaCroix but as it turned out the funds were available to double the work planned for 2006 and this will reduce the work for 2007 when the project will sweep south from the town office to the park.

As you can see huge progress has been made in the first week of the project with the new curb in place for one quarter of the project as work crews wrapped up removing the old brink from in front of the Credit Union early this afternoon. The old fill from beneath the old sidewalking on the west side of the street has been hauled away and new material put in place.

Now that process of putting down fresh fill and compacting it is well along the way on the east side of the first of the two blocks to be done.

Despite delaying the project to the end of the summer it still is causing problems for the downtown merchants who are doing their best to deal with the fact that it is pretty difficult to get to many of the stores as each day's work progresses.

The forms for the new curb were removed today and work will begin Wednesday pouring the east side of the block. These new curbs are central to the whole process as they provide the forms for the new sidewalk that will take shape behind them.

Dwigh Olson and other members of the committee have accepted the huge responsibility of working on this project as volunteers and when things seem a little difficult to accept they have graciously accepted the criticism knowing full well that they all worked through the plans and realised from the

that the project would not be completed without some controversy. However, when you look at mainstreet in Rosthern and see the results and the incredible charming atmosphere that doing up a street in this manner brings to a community it is easy to appreciate the value of the whole project though living through the change seems a bit tense at times.

I indeed took up the offer and strolled into the Credit Union and picked up a free cup of hot coffee, it made everything look better.

That is pretty much the way the project will affect each of us once it is completed. We will look upon the main street and its very people friendly setting as a something like a cup of fine hot coffee, it will make us feel good and enjoy our neighbours and our community which we all savour already.